


you taught me how to speak in love

by vhscassette



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, post-frieza saga, pre-future trunks saga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 01:07:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15159074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vhscassette/pseuds/vhscassette
Summary: the world was safe. for once, the world was safe.





	you taught me how to speak in love

"We're ready to get this party started, guys!" Bulma happily cried out, popping a bottle of champagne as the top flew into the air. The sweet spring night air surrounded Yamcha, invigorating him as he giggled. Walking in like he god damned owned the place, Yamcha adjusted the collar of his clean white polo. 

 

Tonight was gonna be a good one.

 

The cause of the party? Well, Bulma felt like getting everyone together for a night of fun. It seemed like every few months, some villain or some bullshit wanted to kill everyone, take over the world, or a combination of the two. So, Bulma reasoned earlier that week, why not have a nice little get-together? If anyone was gonna hold a party, Bulma was the bad bitch to do it, and she  _ knew _ how to party. Music began vibing through the large, outdoor patio space that Bulma had rented especially for their small group to party in. It was a little cold, pleasurably so, Yamcha found, and he stretched as he walked around, exploring the dimly lit areas of the patio.

 

"Hey, Yamcha!" Goku said from a distance, munching away at the buffet table held in a corner of the patio deck. Yamcha smiled and waved happily.

 

"Hey, Goku! How's it goin?" Yamcha said as he walked over, happy to see one of his closest friends around.

 

"It's goin' good! Bulma really has a great party goin' on; she rented out some of the biggest restaurants in town to make food! It's great!" Goku chippered, happily munching on a leg of fried chicken. Yamcha playfully rolled his eyes and chuckled.

 

"You'd probably eat out a whole damn McDonalds, Goku," Yamcha smugly replied, glancing at the buffet. The food  _ did _ look pretty good, common human foods and Earth's rare delicacies combined, and attendants were constantly moving to refill it. The hunger force of both Goku  _ and _ Vegeta left caterers scrambling to refill, but nonetheless, they kept it goin'. Yamcha smirked at a stumbling waiter who almost dropped a platter of food, raising an eyebrow. Damn. "Where's Gohan?" Yamcha asked, glancing around the party.

 

"He's playing tag with Piccolo and Ox King," Goku said, munching loudly on what Yamcha assumed was the damn entirety of a fried chicken, spitting out bones comically. 

 

"Good lord, Goku, you eat fast- and wait, Piccolo? I can understand Ox King, but.. he got  _ Piccolo _ to play  _ tag _ ?!" Yamcha said, astounded, as he indeed found Gohan chasing his very buff grandpa, Piccolo quietly staying to the side to avoid being spotted. Goku nodded, giving an 'mhm!' of affirmation, before gulping loudly.

 

"Yeah! I was surprised, too," Goku started, loudly slurping a cup of fruit punch, "but Gohan managed to get him to join along! 'Seems to be havin' a good time, too." Yamcha sighed in an odd form of distress. Holy shit, Gohan never ceases to amaze him. 

 

"Well, damn," Yamcha said, chuckling at the idea of Piccolo rushing to tag someone before cringing. Piccolo would play tag, alright; he'd play tag for keeps. If the loser was anyone other than Gohan and his friends, Piccolo would probably make that 'tag' a god damn Special Beam Cannon. Yamcha broke into laughter.

 

"What's so funny?" Krillin asked, popping behind Yamcha and startling him.

 

"Holy shit!" Yamcha hissed, "You scared the crap out of me!"

 

"I'm not that ugly, Yamcha. Now, c'mon," Krillin said, smug smirk raising on his face, "what are y'all losers talkin' about? I heard you all the way down the floor with your laughin'." Yamcha took a second to regain his startled nerves, sighing quietly.

 

"Laughin' at the idea of Piccolo playing tag and 'tagging' people with a Special Beam Cannon," Yamcha said casually. Krillin paused, stared at Yamcha with a slowly growing smirk, and covered his mouth as he began giggling.

 

"Okay, fair. Fair point. Completely understandable," Krillin giggled, putting his hands up in the air in admittance. Yamcha joined him in giggling, hearing Gohan loudly cry a, "tag, you're it!" The laughter increased further when they heard a loud, annoyed Piccolo-sounding grunt. Suddenly, Bulma's voice crackled over an intercom somewhere.

 

"Alright, guys," Bulma said over a loudspeaker, "just here to announce that we're spreadin' out in the middle of the patio for a dancing section in about half an hour!" Yamcha's eyes widened before grinning big. Oh, boy.  _ Oh, boy. _ This was gonna be a night to damn well remember, given the alcohol that was being freely poured amongst their friends. Yamcha wished he brought a camera.

 

"Something about dancing?" a voice from behind Yamcha asked politely. Yamcha whipped his head around and found Tien standing there. Lightness bubbled up in his chest.

 

"Tien! Hey!" Yamcha said with a grin, hugging him gently. Yamcha heard Tien softly chuckle before feeling his arms wrap back, patting softly between his shoulder blades.

 

"Hey. You doin' alright?" Tien asked, Yamcha closing his eyes into the hug. It's been a while, hasn't it?

 

"Doin' pretty good, man. You?" Yamcha asked back, pulling away a little to smile at Tien. Tien smiled back, a soft shade of red spreading over his cheeks and around his neck. 

 

"Good. Just busy and all, had a bit of a bug infestation with the crops the past few days. Other than that, I've been quite well.. especially here," Tien said, Yamcha knowing the words unsaid to the end of that statement. Yamcha could only blush and smile. 

 

"Are you two gonna kiss?" Goku asked innocently, Krillin instantly choking on his own spit.

 

"Oh my god, Goku," Krillin choked. Tien and Yamcha flushed bright red, Yamcha beginning to giggle much like he did in his youth around girls.

 

"Oh, uh," Yamcha giggled shyly, shaking his head, "I, uh, wasn't quite planning to! Haha! Just, uh, just greetin' Tien is all!" Tien, face flushed himself, merely cleared his throat and nodded, looking away. Goku blinked and shrugged.

 

"Okay, if you say so!" Goku said, throwing his hands up lightly in defeat. Krillin recovered from his coughing fit and shook his head, smirk wide.

 

"Get out of here before he asks who wears the pants, you two," Krillin commented with a shaky, embarrassed smirk, raising a hand to the side of his mouth so Goku couldn't see. Tien's eyebrows flew to his damn hairline.

 

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Yamcha hissed with laughter, pushing Tien over to the main part of the patio, "let's get 'outta here, Tien!" Tien let himself be pushed and scratched behind his neck, Yamcha noticing how red he had become. "Fuck you guys!" Yamcha jokingly yelled with a smile over to Krillin, Goku taking slight offense as Krillin waved happily.

 

"I bet it's Tien!" Krillin yelled back, smiling with a shit eating grin. Yamcha groaned loudly in over-dramatic annoyance, flicking Krillin off. Krillin laughed, shaking his head as Goku tapped his shoulder to talk to him about something. Yamcha rolled his eyes with a smile before he eventually stopped pushing Tien, Tien turning back to face him.

 

"Well, that was a great first five minutes," Tien commented, glancing away as Yamcha laughed.

 

"What lovely friends we have, huh?" Yamcha said, moving to stand beside him and gently holding his arm for Tien to wrap his around. Tien smiled at him before following through, wrapping a large elbow around Yamcha's. Yamcha felt warm and fuzzy, being able to wander around God knows where with Tien by his side.

 

"Wouldn't change it for the world," Tien mumbled quietly, his gaze off to the moon that was slowly rising brightly to the sky. Yamcha smiled and watched with him, letting himself drown in the moonlight as other party-goers wandered around them.

 

"Sap," Yamcha said, noticing the curve of the moon that glazed above them.

 

"Who's fault is that, hmm?" Tien commented, glancing at Yamcha smugly with an eyebrow raised. Yamcha looked back and raised both of his in response, snorting.

 

"What, you think _ I _ did? I was a god damned  _ bandit _ before meeting Goku and the others. Goku's probably the reason why we learned how to be capable of inflicting positive emotion in others," Yamcha said, shaking his head and chuckling quietly to himself. Tien snorted, nodding.

 

"Okay, you're right. Goku's innocence spreads  _ way _ too much in others. I mean, hell, look at Vegeta," Tien snickered, gesturing towards Vegeta, who by now had started fighting with Goku back in the corner over the last piece of turkey leg. Yamcha wheezed, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head.

 

"Oh, for the love of god,  _ please  _ don't let them kill each other tonight. I wanted to dance with you, damn it," Yamcha begged jokingly, almost as if pleading to Kami to spare his night of fun. Tien's eyes widened, face burning.

 

"You.. wanted a dance?" Tien said quietly, blinking at Yamcha with hopeful, gentle eyes. Yamcha opened his eyes and looked back at him, raising his eyebrows with a light grin.

 

"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't I? It's nice out, we got music, and I think Bulma's gonna play some sappy shit for the couples to dance to," Yamcha said, shrugging as if to say 'why not?' Tien's eyes glimmered with something Yamcha had only seen when they were alone before Tien let go of Yamcha's elbow and looked down to his own clothes. 

 

"I didn't wear good clothes.. You deserve a better date than that, Yamcha, I shouldn't," Tien said, face flaming with embarrassment as he closed his eyes and hung his head. Tien, Yamcha noticed, was shirtless and wearing his green gi pants that he usually wore for fighting. He didn't even know if Tien  _ had _ other formal clothes for events. It wasn't like either of them really had a whole lot of opportunities to use them except for parties like these, and Yamcha couldn't quite blame him.

 

He merely grabbed Tien's hands softly, rubbing gently on the calluses that had formed months,  _ years _ prior to their own meeting when they were teenagers. Tien looked back up at Yamcha, disappointment with himself still settled in his glance. Yamcha only grinned, raising an eyebrow.

 

"You think I really give that much of a shit about some stupid clothes? You're an idiot, 'ya sappy little dip. C'mon. Dance with me, if you want to," Yamcha said, eyes widening and mouth dropping as he realized  _ the _ worst reference he could've made was done.

 

"Uh..?" Tien said, noticing Yamcha looking like he was .5 seconds away from losing his shit with some convoluted joke.

 

".. We can dance if we want to," Yamcha said, determined eyes suddenly locking onto Tien's, "and we can leave your friends behind." 

 

Tien stared as if Yamcha had told him he had lost his left ankle somewhere in Diablo Desert.

 

"Cause if your friends don't dance, well,  _ if  _ they don't dance-" Yamcha started before being interrupted by a Bulma from a distance.

 

"Well they're- no friends of mine!" Bulma yelled/sang loudly, pointing dramatically at Yamcha before Yamcha let go of Tien's hands and pointed back very strongly, his eyes glimmering. He bit his lip very roughly as if completely overtaken in the dramatics.

 

"Say, we can go where we want to! A place where they will never find!" Yamcha and Bulma yelled across the large patio-space, conversations stopping at the loudly sung eighties tune. 

 

Tien was still utterly, horrifically confused. 

 

"And we can act like we come from out of this world, and leave the  _ real _ one far behind!" Krillin joined in from far away, his off-key voice loudly joining with the duo of dumbasses that were singing from around the patio. Yamcha giggled high pitched and loudly, much akin to a hyena. Tien found himself laughing in confusion as to what the high hell was happening.

 

"Mr. Piccolo! Do you know this song?" Tien heard Gohan ask, Piccolo murmuring something probably in the negative. "Aw, c'mon! It's not  _ that _ bad!" Gohan loudly defended, Tien snorting. God, this was weird. Suddenly, Chiaotzu floated next to Tien, obviously in a state of confusion much similar to his. 

 

"What are they doing?" Chiaotzu whispered quietly into Tien's ear, to which Tien gave a very visible shrug. 

 

"He started it," Tien replied, gesturing to Yamcha, who was now loudly singing a trio-version of  _ Safety Dance  _ in the middle of the patio space with Krillin, Bulma, and now an intrigued Goku. Chiaotzu shook his head, smirking lightheartedly.

 

"You pick the goofballs, don't you?" Chiaotzu said, giggling. Tien sighed in fake annoyance before gently bopping Chiaotzu on the top of his head.

 

"Well, I picked you for a friend, didn't I?" Tien said, Chiaotzu giggling a 'hey, quit it!' as he tried to move his hand away. Suddenly, Tien heard Bulma yell loudly in surprise, causing Tien and Chiaotzu to whip their heads towards her.

 

"What the hell am I doin'?! Let's get this shit goin, pronto!" Bulma loudly said, sprinting off to a DJ table a bit away from the patio and rapidly tapping controls. Yamcha and Krillin were left breathless, giggling to themselves as Goku was happily singing off-key remnants of the song to himself. 

 

Suddenly, the soft white lights that illuminated the patio darkened to nothing. Bright, neon lights switched on and focused on the middle of the patio, flickering in colors of all kinds. Yamcha and Krillin hoarsely screamed in excitement when eighties synth began to play, Tien guessing it was the song they were singing to moments earlier. 

 

"Tonight's gonna be a party, alright," Tien sighed, wistfully smiling as Bulma rejoined Krillin and Yamcha under the slowly-spiraling neon lights.

 

* * *

 

Yamcha partied his ass off. His legs hurt, his blood rushed with adrenaline and a few jello shots, and God, was he having fun! Piccolo and Gohan did a cute little father-son-friendship-who-knows karaoke duet from some Disney movie, Puar and Chiaotzu singing squeaky but on-tune back-up vocals. Then, Bulma, Krillin, Goku, Yamcha himself, and  _ Master-fuckin'-Roshi _ managed to pull out a rendition of  _ Everybody _ from Backstreet Boys out of their asses, everyone else laughing and clapping along to their stupidity. 

 

Yamcha had seen Tien from the corner of the patio, grinning in amusement as he waved to Yamcha. His face reddened, singing louder and dancing even more loosely to the song as his black hair whipped around him. Tien merely snickered and shook his head.

 

The dancing and karaoke eventually stopped after about two hours, everyone involved a sweaty mess as they tried to cool down from the bright neon lights that enveloped them. Stumbling into a smiling Tien's arms, Yamcha tried catching his breath as Tien hugged him.

 

"Had fun?" Tien asked, rubbing Yamcha's back with a firm hand.

 

"'Fuckin' bet your ass, I did," Yamcha breathed out, tiredly attempting to catch his breath from the dancing and karaoke he did. Yamcha was already thanking just about any meteorological god that had the nighttime temperatures be cool tonight.

 

"You looked like a moron," Tien snickered, gently laying his head on Yamcha's shoulder. Yamcha 'pfft'd and gently wacked at one of his arms before letting his hand flop back down.

 

"You're one to talk, Mr. Beefcake in the Back Corner," Yamcha retorted, Tien rolling his eyes.

 

"'Beefcake in the Back Corner,' huh? Your insults are only getting worse," Tien commented, Yamcha pulling away slightly to look him in the eye.

 

"My legs might be burning, but I still got enough energy to whoop your ass," Yamcha said, eyes half-lidded in fake annoyance. Tien merely smirked and raised his eyebrows.

 

"Whoop my ass? In front of everyone? How kinky. What, 'you gonna bring out some handcuffs, too?" Tien snorted, eyes sparking with a fight. Yamcha raised his eyebrows as if to ask, 'oh, really?'

 

And, of course, Tien imitated his expression in a goofy way.

 

That was it.

 

"Oh, you wanna talk about pain kinks? Who's the one that broke my leg?" Yamcha replied, voice smug and pointed. Tien knew at this point that Yamcha didn't give a singular fuck about the leg-breaking incident.

 

"Who's the one who got his face all cut up and didn't restore it back to normal from Shenron?" Tien retorted, getting up in Yamcha's face. 

 

"Who's the one with three eyes?" 

 

"Who's the one with  _ two _ ?"

 

"Would you guys quit makin' out and get over here?" Bulma yelled from a distance, "I'm gonna play some sappy-ass romance tunes and I wanna see you two bein' cute!" Yamcha whipped his head to face Bulma and grit his teeth in shy embarrassment.

 

"We were  _ not _ making out! Tien made fun of me for threatening to beat his ass!" Yamcha flusteredly yelled, Tien moving to scratch the back of his slowly-reddening head. Bulma blinked.

 

"Kinky," Bulma yelled across the patio.

 

"Told'ja," Tien snickered quietly, looking away from Yamcha's suddenly piercing glare.

 

"I'll kick both of your damned asses!" Yamcha yelled before storming off to the dancefloor in embarrassment, covering his face with his hands. Bulma laughed, taking another sip of her champagne, before motioning for Tien to follow and join. Face red, Tien shook his head and wiped his forehead. He almost wished he was into drinking for the fun of it, because good lord, he'd need it. 

 

* * *

 

"Yamcha, I'm not a dancer," Tien muttered shyly as couples began spilling onto the dance floor. Yamcha gently slid a hand onto his shoulder, the other moving to hold Tien's to the side. 

  
  


"Well, I'm sure Goku isn't, either, but there he is with Chi-Chi. Don't be a wimp, Shinhan," Yamcha smiled, getting close. 

 

"Do I put my hand right here? Or is it.. uh," Tien stammered, sliding his hand awkwardly from Yamcha's upper stomach, to his chest, and down the side of his body. Yamcha rolled his eyes, gently taking his hand off Tien's shoulder to navigate wherever the hell Tien was trying to land.

 

"Over here, m'kay?" Yamcha soothed, gently sliding Tien's hand to the side of his hip. Blushing, Tien nodded and kept the hand there as Yamcha slid his up Tien's shoulder. "See? There you have it," Yamcha smiled as the lights dimmed and the music began, some love tune from the sixties. Slowly, the two of them found a pattern of slowly stepping together, dancing gently amidst the glowing lights.

 

Every now and again, they would take a misstep and plop a foot on top of the other's, giggling in apologies. Yamcha found himself drunk on dancing with him, gently pecking Tien on the lips.

 

"I've missed you, Yamcha," Tien said after softly kissing Yamcha back for a few moments, sincerity quite evident in his voice. 

 

"I've missed you, too," Yamcha said quietly with a soft smile, taking steps with Tien as they slowly waltzed along the dance floor. Closing his eyes, Yamcha rested his head on Tien's shoulder as he pressed further against him. The world may have been tilting on its axis, but Yamcha couldn't feel a thing but the warmth of Tien's chest. 

 

He loved him so much.

 

Tien gently slid his hand around Yamcha's waist.

 

"I'm sorry I've been so busy recently," Tien softly apologized into Yamcha's ear, gently rubbing a small section of Yamcha's lower back. 

 

"Don't worry about it, baby. Get your money for you and Chiaotzu, it ain't nothin' to me. I understand," Yamcha smiled, chuckling when he noticed how Tien bristled slightly at the pet-name. Yamcha lifted his head to face him, and sure enough, Tien looked like he was about to shoot steam out of his ears with how red he was becoming. Yamcha shook his head and giggled. "Good lord, Tien," Yamcha commented, "hasn't anyone ever called you sappy shit before?"

 

"No, I, I haven't been, uh, called stuff like that, really," Tien stammered, looking away before accidentally stepping on Yamcha's foot a bit too hard.

 

"Yeowch!" Yamcha yelped, startled by the sudden pain in his toes. Tien had feet of fuckin' lead, apparently. Tien perked up and quickly moved off his foot, immediately apologizing.

 

"Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to, are you alright?" Tien asked nervously, Yamcha smiling hard to avoid cursing at how hard his boot landed on his god damn toes.

 

"Remind me to get you some dancing lessons or something," Yamcha seethed before breaking into giggles. Tien still frowned, moving to hold his shoulders and gently brush hair out of Yamcha's face.

 

"Seriously, are you alright? I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-" Tien quietly started before Yamcha interrupted.

 

"Give me a smooch, and then I'll forgive you," Yamcha said, grinning as the pain in his foot cooled down. Tien, as if genuinely believing that Yamcha would never forgive him unless he did so, nodded and gave him a gentle, chaste peck on the lips. Yamcha noticed this as Tien pulled away and sighed. "I wasn't bein' serious, sweetheart," Yamcha said softly, giving a more genuine kiss to Tien, "I just wanted a smooch from 'ya. I've long forgiven you." Tien, still glancing to the side, snorted.

 

"You coulda' just said, y'know," Tien said, vulnerable as he scratched the back of his neck.

 

"Well, it  _ did _ hurt, but I just like teasin' 'ya," Yamcha said in amusement before Tien lightly and playfully shoved him. 

 

"'Teasing me' my ass, bandit-boy, I don't like hurting you," Tien said with a shaky smirk, Yamcha chuckling and pushing back. 

 

"Aw, c'mon, knucklehead, you think I  _ really _ wouldn't ever forgive you over steppin' on my damn foot? Dude, I doubt we would've gotten this far considering other things you've done to my leg before," Yamcha snickered, Tien laughter lightening up the dancefloor. 'His laugh should be illegal. Good lord,' Yamcha thought, his face heating up. 

 

"That's true. I guess I owe you one, huh?" Tien said, slowly moving to dance with Yamcha once more. 

 

"Uh, yeah, you do," Yamcha said, as if his statement should've been completely obvious, "you owe me another kiss." Tien snorted and shook his head.

 

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Tien said sarcastically before giving him a light kiss on the lips. Yamcha giggled and kissed back, butterflies and heat filling his chest. He felt Tien laugh gently back against him before they both broke away, happiness spiralling between the two of them. The lights continued to glimmer around them, surrounded by friends who loved them and a world safe and sound.

 

Was this what happiness was like?

  
  
  
  



End file.
